Canada invests C$3.11mn to enhance swine disease detection and biosecurity in pork industry

The Canadian government commits C$3.11 million to improve swine health surveillance, aiming to reduce disease spread and economic losses in the pork sector through advanced diagnostic technology and stronger biosecurity measures.

The federal government is putting up to C$3.11mn into a Canadian Pork Council project aimed at improving swine health surveillance, as Ottawa seeks to reduce the economic and animal welfare costs of infectious disease in the pork sector.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald announced the funding under the AgriAssurance programme’s National Industry Association component. The money will help develop, validate and upgrade multiplex assay technology, allowing laboratories to screen for several domestic swine viruses from a single sample.

According to the department, the project will also establish a national proficiency programme to improve consistency across veterinary laboratories and create a secure database to track swine viruses. The work will be based at the Atlantic Veterinary College and involve veterinary practitioners, laboratories and industry participants.

The investment is intended to make diagnostic testing faster, more specific and more affordable, particularly for intestinal and respiratory viruses. Ottawa said better surveillance would support earlier detection, limit spread and help producers reduce losses linked to disease outbreaks.

For Canada’s pork industry, the move reflects a broader push to strengthen biosecurity and resilience in a sector that remains a major agricultural export earner.

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